Natixis AM, AEW Europe raise €240m for Senior European Loan Fund

By: Caroline Allen | 25 Jul 2012

Natixis Asset Management and AEW Europe have joined forces to launch the Senior European Loan Fund, where investors can benefit from assets attracting priority payment and specific guarantees compared to other forms of subordinated debt.

The fund is the first sub-fund of the Senior European Loan Fund SCA-SIF, a closed-ended seven year specialized investment fund under Luxembourg law.

On launch, the fund completes a first close with commitments of €240m. It is targeting an investment capacity of €500m.

Participation is restricted to certain types of qualified institutional investors who meet the definition of Well Informed Investors as set out in the Luxembourg Law of 13 February 2007, or the Professional investors as defined in MiFID.

The fund aims to deliver returns equivalent to investment grade bonds, which hold a credit rating of between AAA and BBB-, according to Standard & Poor’s classification. The fund will invest in senior real estate loans and assets including offices, retail and logistics, located in Europe and predominantly in France, Germany and the UK.

It will run a dual investment strategy, financing new loans in partnership with banks, and purchasing existing loans. A first investment is set to be announced soon.

The Senior European Loan Fund is managed by Senior European Loan Management, a subsidiary of AEW Europe. The management company is advised by a team from Natixis Asset Management, consisting of two senior portfolio managers with combined experience of over 25 years in fixed income, and by real estate debt specialists at AEW Europe.

Christian Delaire, CEO of AEW Europe, commented: “The real estate financing market is experiencing a structural change with a marked decrease in funding capacity of the banking system, creating an opportunity for the emergence of new participants in real estate debt. The creation of this fund aims to offer our clients access to this new market opportunity.”

Natixis Global Asset Management, a wholly-owned Natixis subsidiary, is an international group of fund management and distribution companies based in Europe, the United States and Asia. It has over €562bn in assets under management around the world.

AEW Europe, together with AEW Capital Management in the United States and Asia, forms a global real estate platform with more than €36bn in assets under management, of which €18.6bn is in Europe.